Wednesday, March 06, 2013

Putrid

That's the best way to describe how my stomach has been feeling for the last few months.  Putrid.  It's gone from occasional nausea to violent gastronomical attacks that put me down for days.  I've missed a lot of work because of this.

The doctor sent me to have a gall bladder ultrasound.  Completely fascinated the technician when she saw my third kidney. Yep, I'm a mutant.  But the gall bladder was normal.  That wasn't it.

A couple of weeks ago, I took a tumble and cracked a rib.  My doctor was out, but that doctor said I could be lactose intolerant.  Try going without dairy.  That wasn't it.

I called my doctor and said maybe I needed a specialist.  No, he wanted to see me one more time.  In the meantime, my mother hit the Internet and made some interesting discoveries.  One very likely candidate was called gastroparesis.  It strikes mostly diabetic women, is like neuropathy of the stomach, and is often described as feeling "putrid."

I printed that one and took it with me.

In the doctor's office, I described my symptoms again.  This was about 10 AM, and I said, "The thing is that I haven'r eaten anything since dinner last night, but I still feel full."

"I think you've made your own diagnosis without knowing it," he said, turning to his computer.  "Sounds like gastroparesis."

I told him about my mother and showed him the printed page.  He laughed and said, "Good for her!"

This means that my stomach is having trouble processing normally.  I have to change to a diet of 5 small meals a day, instead of 3 regular.  I have to switch to a lot of liquid meals. Break out the blender!  And I can never ever overeat.

I am going for a scan to confirm it.  I get to be radioactive for a little while.  It would be really cool if I could come out of it with superpowers.

No comments: